Web-winding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A web-winding apparatus in which the moving web is transferred from one rotating core to another without interruption. An arcuate guide plate extends partially, preferably in excess of 180*, e.g., about 240*, around the periphery of the new core to define with the core periphery a narrow passageway into which the web end is threaded after being severed from the remainder of the web. A nozzle situated adjacent the side of the web path opposite the guide plate emits a stream of air under pressure as the web end is severed, the stream of air entering the entrance of the threading passageway generally in the direction of the passageway, the effect of the airstream being to direct the new web end into the passageway and to bias the same into contact with the rotating core periphery so that the web end becomes wound upon the core. The guide plate is so formed that the narrow passageway is tapered, preferably gradually at a generally constant rate, from the inlet towards the outlet opening for the web, so that any tendency for the web to fold back while travelling around the core under the control of the air is eliminated. The portion of the guide plate immediately adjacent the inlet opening may be straight, i.e., uncurved, for cooperation with a shear blade in severing the web.

United States Patent Hellemans [54] WEB-WINDING APPARATUS [72] Inventor: Albert Joseph l-lellemans, Borgerhout,

Belgium [73] Assignee: Gevaert-Agt'a N.V., Mortsel, Belgium [22] Filed: Dec.23, 1969 [21] Appl.No.: 887,512

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 702,609, Feb. 2,

1968, Pat. No. 3,501,104.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 2, 1967 Great Britain ..5,l68/67 [52] U.S.Cl... ..242/56 [51] Int. Cl ..B65h 19/20 [58] Field of Search ..242/18, 56, 56.2, 56.6, 56.9, 242/64, 65

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,668,675 2/1954 Wolfe ..242/56 2,789,774 4/1957 Petersen et al... ...242/56X 2,942,796 6/1960 Gumey et al. ....242/56 2,943,806 7/1960 Phelps ....242/56 2,989,262 6/1961 Hornbostel ....242/56 3,066,882 12/1962 Havens et al. ..242/56 Primary ExaminerStanley N. Gilreath Assistant Examiner-Wemer H. Schroeder Attorney-William J. Daniel [5 7] ABSTRACT A web-winding apparatus in which the moving web is transferred from one rotating core to another without interruption. An arcuate guide plate extends partially, preferably in excess of 180, e.g., about 240, around the periphery of the new core to define with the core periphery a narrow passageway into which the web end is threaded after being severed from the remainder of the web. A nozzle situated adjacent the side of the web path opposite the guide plate emits a stream of air under pressure as the web end is severed, the stream of air entering the entrance of the threading passageway generally in the direction of the passageway, the effect of the airstream being to direct the new web end into the passageway and to bias the same into contact with the rotating core periphery so that the web end becomes wound upon the core.

The guide plate is so formed that the narrow passageway is tapered, preferably gradually at a generally constant rate, from the inlet towards the outlet opening for the web, so that any tendency for the web to fold back while travelling around the core under the control of the air is eliminated. The portion of the guide plate immediately adjacent the inlet opening may be straight, i.e., uncurved, for cooperation with a shear blade in severing the web.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEB 15 m2 SHEET 1 [IF 2 Fig. 1

WEB-WINDING APPARATUS This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 702,609, filed Feb. 2, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,104, granted Mar. 17, 1970.

This invention relates to web-winding apparatus for use in severing a travelling web along a transverse line and causing the web portion upstream of such line to wind onto a rotating core without interrupting the motion of the web.

The invention is particularly related to improvements in a winding apparatus of the type which comprises a web guide mounted for predetermined displacement to and from an operative position and shaped so that in that position it can define with a suitably mounted rotatably driven core a curved passageway extending partly around the core, a web cutter displaceable from an inoperative position to an operative position at or near one end of said passageway for transversely severing a web during its travel past the driven core, and nozzle means situated across the web path from the core for delivering a stream of air against the web end produced when the web is severed, the direction of the stream being toward the inlet opening of the passageway such that when severance of a said web by the cutter takes place while the web is travelling past the rotating core, preferably in light tangential contact therewith, in a direction corresponding with the direction of rotation of such core, the air stream will constrain the leading end of the freshly cut web to follow the periphery of such core and to enter said passageway so that the web section upstream of such line of cut becomes wound upon the core. A web winding apparatus of the above description is described and claimed in our mentioned copending application Ser. No. 702,609.

The web-winding apparatus constructed and operated in accordance with the said copending application operates satisfactorily with webs of various materials, thicknesses and at various web speeds. However, it has been found that under certain conditions of operation, the relationship between the core and the web guide, which defines the annular passageway between the core and the guide, become critical for satisfactory operation. These said conditions may include, among others, the following which may occur in the various modes of use of the winder and which may occur in various combinations:

1. Unusually small diameter winding cores, e.g., 50 mm. or

smaller.

2. Web speeds above l50-200 m./min.

3. Very wide webs, e.g., 1.5 m. and over.

4. Unusual web characteristics, such as films and papers that are very soft and limp, films and papers having very slippery or, on the other hand, very sticky surface characteristics, and many other unusual characteristics which are met in industry. The operational characteristics of these various webs are, of course, also influenced in each case by the thickness of the web involved.

it has been found that for successful operation of the webwinding apparatus under the conditions enumerated above, it is desirable that the annular passage defined by the periphery of the core and the web guide or shell be tapered, preferably continuously at a constant gradual rate, in width from the inlet to the outlet, the term width here designating the radial distance at any given point from the periphery of the core to the inside of the shell.

An embodiment of the invention, selected by way of example, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a vertical section of the winding apparatus shown at the instant of severing of the web.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail section of the severing and core wrapping components of the apparatus of FlG. l at the same instant, showing the tapered configuration of the threading passageway extending around the core.

The apparatus of the invention in a broad sense can be considered as an assembly for performing certain servicing functions for a web winding mandrel 65 supported in any of the ways known in this art for driven rotation about its axis. Turret-type supports of the type disclosed in the above-identified application Ser. No. 702,609, are particularly suitable and are preferred. The present improvements, however, are not necessarily related to that or any other specific mode of support and, consequently, for purposes of this disclosure, mandrel 65 is merely shown in operative position carrying a removable core 67 on which the web is to be wound. Preferably for ease of loading and unloading mandrel 65 takes the form of two spaced-apart pluglike arbors or chucks which can be inserted into the end openings of the core to rotatably suspend the core therebetween.

The working components of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are supported from two vertical columns 10, only one of which is seen in the drawing, arranged in spaced-apart parallel relation with their lower ends rigidly secured by means of a baseplate 12 to the floor.

A shaft 16 stretches between the two columns, being rotatably journaled thereon about midway of their height. This shaft serves as the pivot axis for a pair of elongated main operating arms 18 which project in spaced-apart parallel relation adjacent the ends of shaft 16 in a direction generally away from columns 10. in the opposite direction, i.e., generally toward columns 10, each of arms 18 is provided with an extension 22 which is attached at its remote end with the working position of a double-acting air motor 24 and thus functions as an operating crank for the corresponding arm. Air motor 24 extends more or less vertically with the cylinder thereof pivotally anchored to one ofcolumns 10 as at 26.

At their ends, arms 18 carry between them a freely rotatable guide roller 27, and in spacedparallel relation to roller 27, a freely rotatable pressure roller 28 which is provided with a resilient covering 29. The bearings of roller 28 (not shown) are mounted to tolerate small transverse displacements and are spring biased towards the core 67, so that when the arms 18 are rocked counterclockwise roller 28 is resiliently urged against the periphery of core 67. The arms 18 are further provided at a point thereon intermediate the axis of pressure roller 28 and the pivot axis of shaft 16 with stub shafts 30 on which a web-severing subassembly 31 is pivotally mounted. Subassembly 31 includes two curved operating arms 32 pivoted at one end to one of the stub shafts and arching in spaced-parallel relation over and around roller 28. Arms 32 are connected to the extremities ofa hollow tube 34 which extends transversely of the web path in the region between rollers 27 and 28 and to which a web cutter blade 35 is secured. Along its underside tube 34 is provided with two rows 73 and 74 of small circular openings through which jets of air flow when tube 34 is connected by means not shown to a source of compressed air. The spacing of the openings is such that the jets together act as a curtain or continuous stream of pressurized air. The position of the cutter subassembly is independently controlled by double-acting air motors 36, one end of which is pivotally connected to the arms 32, and the other end of which is pivotally secured to another part of the main operating arms 18, such as extension crank 22.

A hollow torque tube 40 is disposed for separate oscillatory movement on the shaft 16 by means of suitable bearings, not shown, and serves to support a web guide plate subassembly 42 positioned on the underside of the apparatus generally. Two spaced-parallel operating arms 46 for subassembly 42 are fixed to the ends of the torque tube 40, stretching beneath and around mandrel 65. One arm 46 is extended on the opposite side of the tube 40 from mandrel 65 into a crank arm 49, which is pinned at its free end to the upper end of a doubleacting air motor 51. This motor is pivoted at its lower end to the column 10 at position 53. For clearness sake, the air motor 51 and the crank arm 49 which would be concealed behind the column 10 in the figure have been shown in broken lines.

The free ends of the arms 46 are curved, and they carry a first guide shell section 54 in the form of a more or less semicircular trough which is curved through about l and has a length exceeding the length of the core 67. A second guide shell section 55 is curved through about and is linked to the first shell 54 by a hinge 52 which runs parallel to the axis of curvature of the shell. The shell section 54 is held at its upper edge by a support beam 25 of roughly U-shaped cross section, and at its lower edge by a rib 56, both extending lengthwise thereof. A reinforcing rib 57 stiffens the second shell section 55 in its longitudinal direction and provides a point of attachment for a centrally located drive crank 58, which is pivotally attached to one end of the double-acting air motor 59. The other end of the motor is secured to a lip or flange welded on the torque tube 40.

Columns further support a pair of dogleg shaped brackets 60 between which a freely rotatable guide roller 61 is mounted.

All of the fittings and conduits by which the various air motors are connected to a pressurized air source and the control vale system therefor have been omitted from the drawings.

In the arrangement to be described, the web 70 to be wound upon core 67 preparatory to initiation of takeup is caused to follow a path passing in close proximity to the core periphery moving beneath guide roller 61 and between rollers 27 and 28 and core 67. Where the core is supported by a conventional roll stand of the turret type, the web 70 may be travelling to another driven core (not seen) in operation at another position on the roll stand.

it will be seen that the guide shell sections 54 and 55 define with the periphery, of core 67 on annular passage 91 extending at least 180 around the core circumference and preferably about 270 therearound. For optimum performance, the gap between the inlet and outlet ends of passage 91 is determined by the space needed to accommodate without crowding the pressure roller 28 and cutting blade and air nozzle array, roller 28 being arranged in close proximity to the outlet end of the passage.

In accordance with the invention, the curvature of the guide plate sections is so chosen as to impart a tapering or progressively narrowing configuration to passage 91, such that the passage undergoes a loss in width, i.e., radial or annular dimension, of a significant degree, desirably at least about 50 percent from beginning to end. Preferably, the graduation is at a substantially constant gradual rate.

Referring to FIG. 2, the distance or clearance from the internal surface of the web guide plate sections 54 and 55 to the periphery of the core 67 is denoted as D, at the entrance to the passage 91, and D, at the exit of the same. It is the critical feature of this invention that the distance from the internal surface of the web guide to the periphery of the core continuously decreases from the maximum D, at the entrance to the minimum D at the discharge of the so-defined passageway. In the embodiment shown the initial portion of the guide 54 is made straight for a short distance so as to cooperate with the knife 35 to form a back up or fixed edge for the web cutting action. At the point on the web guide indicated by the dimension D,, the guide starts to curve in a spiral of ever decreasing radius until the discharge end indicated by D,,. Therefore, the annular space between the web guides 54 and 55 and the core 67 decreases continuously from the entrance D through D to the discharge at D The particular optimum dimensions selected for the points D,, D will vary somewhat with the web material and cannot be fixed with exactitude. Obviously, if the passage is enormously wide compared to the web thickness, the desired guiding effect could not be obtained. On the other hand, if the passage were very small with respect to the web thickness, i.e., just slightly larger, then ready entrance into and movement through the passage by the web would hardly occur. The correct size lies between these extremes so that the web can move smoothly and easily through the passage which is still sufficiently constricted to act effectively on the web. For example, with a web of polyester having a thickness of 0.2 mm. D, and D can be 26 mm. and 3 mm. respectively.

The drawings show the apparatus at the instant of severing the web. Prior to said severing, the following operations'have occurred in sequence.

Motor 51 was retracted, thereby swinging arms 46 of the guide subassembly 42 from an inoperative position not shown) downwardly of the core 67 to the position as shown in the drawing.

Air motor 24 was retracted, thereby rotating arms 18 in counterclockwise direction until the roller 28 rests on the core 67. At the same time idler roller 27 slightly deflects downwardly the path of the web 70 so that the web path runs close above the upper side of the support 25.

Air motor 59 was retracted thereby rocking arm 58 and bringing shell section 55 in the position as shown.

Finally, air motor 36 was extended thereby swinging arms 32 in counterclockwise direction and bringing tube 34 and knife 35 into operative position as shown.

Returning now to FIG. 2, the drawing shows the apparatus immediately after the web 70 has been severed by the knife 35, with 70b indicating the trailing edge of the severed web moving downstream of the knife and 7a indicating the leading edge of the web which is being forced downwardly and towards the core periphery by the action of the air jets coming through rows of holes 73 and 74 in the air supply the tube 34. Any tendency of the web to wrinkle or to fold back while travelling around the core under the urging and control of the air is eliminated or minimized by the above-described continuously decreasing passageway between the guide and the core.

AS stated earlier, it is preferred that the passageway be decreased in a uniform manner from, for example D to D,, but small deviations, such as those caused by manufacturing tolerances, have negligible effect. Also, the straight portion of the guide from D, to D may be modified as desired to accommodate different knife constructions without adverse effect on the operation,

The air which escapes at the ends of the annular passage outside the side edges of the web adds a component to the air velocity which is directed parallel to the axis of the core, and thus moves away from the centerline towards the side edges of the web. This component adds to smooth the web in the transverse direction but, however, may cause a relatively great loss in air pressureLWhen a relatively great air pressure at the openings 73 and 74 is not desirable, it may be avoided by providing linings on the innerside of the shells section near the end portions of the core, which correspond in shape to the gradually decreasing passageway. Such linings may either remain spaced from the core periphery by a millimeter of so, or they may be resiliently urged into contact with the periphery of the rotating core.

The invention is not limited to the described embodiment. It will be understood that the described decreasing passageway may also be formed by a single shell section which extends over about angular degrees or, as the case may be, by a flexible shell structure which extends over'more than 180 and has at least one longitudinal edge which is adapted under the influence of suitable control means to be separated from the opposite edge in order to permit the shell to be brought into, and removed from, the operative position around the core.

We claim:

1. A winding apparatus for flexible webs and the like which comprises a curved web guide having an operative position extending partially around a driven core on which the web is to wound and in that position defining with the surface of said core an annular passage extending partly around the core, said passage having inlet and outlet openings for the web to be wound and tapering from maximum annular dimension at the inlet to minimum annulardimension at the outlet, and means for delivering a leading end of said web into the inlet opening of said passage which includes nozzle means for directing a stream of air extending generally across said web into said inlet opening, said airstream being effective to constrain the leading web end into contact with the periphery of such core and to feed said web end smoothly through said passage so that the web end becomes wound up on said core.

2. The winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web end is produced by cutting a web moving along a path extend- .position ofsaid web cutter.-

4. The winding apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said nozzle means is constructed integrally with said cutter and is movable bodily with said cutter from an inoperative position to said operative position.

5. The winding apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the portion of the web guide immediately adjacent the inlet opening for the web is substantially straight and said cutter comprises a shear blade which in said operative position projects within said inlet opening in closely spaced parallel relation to said straight guide portion.

6. The winding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the curvature of said web guide is such that said annular passage tapers gradually at a generally constant rate from the end of the straight portion thereof to the outlet opening.

7. Winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web guide in said operative position extends in excess of around said core and the maximum dimension of said passage is approximately twice the minimum dimension thereof.

8. Winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web guide extends approximately 240 around said core. 

1. A winding apparatus for flexible webs and the like which comprises a curved web guide having an operative position extending partially around a driven core on which the web is to wound and in that position defining with the surface of said core an annular passage extending partly around the core, said passage having inlet and outlet openings for the web to be wound and tapering from maximum annular dimension at the inlet to minimum annular dimension at the outlet, and means for delivering a leading end of said web into the inlet opening of said passage which includes nozzle means for directing a stream of air extending generally across said web into said inlet opening, said airstream being effective to constrain the leading web end into contact with the periphery of such core and to feed said web end smoothly through said passage so that the web end becomes wound up on said core.
 2. The winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web end is produced by cutting a web moving along a path extending adjacent said core and said web end delivering means includes a web cutter displaceable from an inoperative position on the opposite side of said web path to an operative position proximate the passage inlet.
 3. The winding apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said nozzle means in operative position is disposed on the opposite side of said web path from said core just upstream of the operative position of said web cutter.
 4. The winding apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said nozzle means is constructed integrally with said cutter and is movable bodily with said cutter from an inoperative position to said operative position.
 5. The winding apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the portion of the web guide immediately adjacent the inlet opening for the web is substantially straight and said cutter comprises a shear blade which in said operative position projects within said inlet opening in closely spaced parallel relation to said straight guide portion.
 6. ThE winding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the curvature of said web guide is such that said annular passage tapers gradually at a generally constant rate from the end of the straight portion thereof to the outlet opening.
 7. Winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web guide in said operative position extends in excess of 180* around said core and the maximum dimension of said passage is approximately twice the minimum dimension thereof.
 8. Winding apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said web guide extends approximately 240* around said core. 